castor setting

boosted180 · 03-25-2011, 03:57 PM

after about a one year break from tracking my car, i'm going back in a week to buttonwillow. i've never thought much about castor, but it looks like i have about 4.5 to 5 degrees. factory calls for close to 6 degrees if i remember correctly? with more castor, i'll have more camber during cornering, which is good theoretically, but is it something significant that will make a difference? i'm tryign to decide if it's worth my time and money to go get another alignment. my camber and toe are just the way i like it. -2.75 front and -2.25 rear. zero toe front, 2mm toe in rear. any thoughts?? thanks.

littlejuanito · 08-25-2017, 11:31 AM

I was wondering the same. What are the benefits/downsides of more caster, say if I go with +7???

osbornsm · 08-25-2017, 11:44 AM

What are the advantages?
Caster causes your Camber to increase when you turn the wheel.

I.E. when you need it

Custom control arms from SPL give the ability to adjust your camber and caster to desired settings.

I have my caster set to 6.5 ish.
You can get 7.0 if you desire.

Old racing phrase: Caster is faster.

littlejuanito · 08-25-2017, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osbornsm

What are the advantages?
Caster causes your Camber to increase when you turn the wheel.

I.E. when you need it

Custom control arms from SPL give the ability to adjust your camber and caster to desired settings.

I have my caster set to 6.5 ish.
You can get 7.0 if you desire.

Old racing phrase: Caster is faster.

what would be the disadvantages? BTW, I do have SPL arms and going tomorrow to get a re alignment.

Hotrodz · 08-25-2017, 01:48 PM

None for the track as he said more caster the faster. I am at 6.5 and -2.6 front and -2.0 rear with just a tad of toe on both.

If you run mostly on the street more caster and camber will lead to excessive tire wear on the front.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

littlejuanito · 08-25-2017, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

None for the track as he said more caster the faster. I am at 6.5 and -2.6 front and -2.0 rear with just a tad of toe on both.

If you run mostly on the street more caster and camber will lead to excessive tire wear on the front.

This is what I was referring to specifically. I do half street and half spirited driving so I'm wondering if I should be more conservative on positive caster.

Hotrodz · 08-25-2017, 02:02 PM

The caster is not as much a big deal as camber. If you get to much more than -2.5 you will get tire ware.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

littlejuanito · 08-25-2017, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

The caster is not as much a big deal as camber. If you get to much more than -2.5 you will get tire ware.

Ill be running -2 camber front and -1.75 rear, 0 toe front and a hair in toe in rear, but I'm not sure how much positive caster I should run based on my these settings.

Hotrodz · 08-25-2017, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlejuanito

Ill be running -2 camber front and -1.75 rear, 0 toe front and a hair in toe in rear, but I'm not sure how much positive caster I should run based on my these settings.

Lol, I would still run as much as possible 6 at least. Also you may want to run just a little toe up front since you drive yours on the road as it helps keep the car more stable and it won't kill you at the track.

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Rusty · 08-26-2017, 11:24 PM

Caster won't hurt tire life. It just affects handling. Short answer. I have mine set at +7 caster, and -2 camber, toe a hair in.

MaysEffect · 09-02-2017, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlejuanito

This is what I was referring to specifically. I do half street and half spirited driving so I'm wondering if I should be more conservative on positive caster.

Adding both additional caster plus camber will increase tire wear, this comes from excessive camber gain during high steering lock.in normal traffic conditions caster itself won't do anything to the tires. You only need one or the other though. With increased caster (6 degrees or greater) you begin to lift the outside wheel away from the ground more. This plus the camber curve from the A arm design would significantly reduce tire contact with the road. With low profile tires you run the risk of sliding the tire more. This doesn't do anything for heat management. It will however improve steering feel and linearity. This is the biggest benefits imo other than additional camber gain. However the camber gain is not a problem with the oem geometry.

If you want to increase caster over 7 degrees. Its best to keep the static camber as low as possible. Reducing camber with the upper control also reduces the amount of camber gain by reducing the camber curve slightly. So it's a win win.

Also increasing caster on this car changes the anti dive characteristics, some may notice trail braking and lift oversteer may become more unstable. To help with this you may need to play around with the rake.

03-25-2011, 03:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
boosted180 Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: long beach Posts: 188 Drives: '09 370z sport 6m Rep Power: 16	castor setting after about a one year break from tracking my car, i'm going back in a week to buttonwillow. i've never thought much about castor, but it looks like i have about 4.5 to 5 degrees. factory calls for close to 6 degrees if i remember correctly? with more castor, i'll have more camber during cornering, which is good theoretically, but is it something significant that will make a difference? i'm tryign to decide if it's worth my time and money to go get another alignment. my camber and toe are just the way i like it. -2.75 front and -2.25 rear. zero toe front, 2mm toe in rear. any thoughts?? thanks.

08-25-2017, 11:31 AM	#2 (permalink)
littlejuanito Track Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Sherman Oaks, CA Posts: 812 Drives: 2014 Touring Sport Rep Power: 419	I was wondering the same. What are the benefits/downsides of more caster, say if I go with +7??? Last edited by littlejuanito; 08-25-2017 at 11:38 AM.

08-25-2017, 11:44 AM	#3 (permalink)
osbornsm A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: WHAT Posts: 2,551 Drives: 2018 Camaro SS 1LE Rep Power: 424	What are the advantages? Caster causes your Camber to increase when you turn the wheel. I.E. when you need it Custom control arms from SPL give the ability to adjust your camber and caster to desired settings. I have my caster set to 6.5 ish. You can get 7.0 if you desire. Old racing phrase: Caster is faster. Rusty and Hotrodz like this. __________________ 2018 Camaro SS 1LE (455hp) - 2011 Nissan 370z (333hp) - 2004 VW R32 (240hp) - 2000 Civic Si (160hp)

08-25-2017, 01:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
Hotrodz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NW, AZ Posts: 9,330 Drives: 10 Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 2684385	None for the track as he said more caster the faster. I am at 6.5 and -2.6 front and -2.0 rear with just a tad of toe on both. If you run mostly on the street more caster and camber will lead to excessive tire wear on the front. Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk __________________ *Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:\|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX*\|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler\|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel\|3GsCustoms\|Z1\|Wavetrac\|Hotchkis\|Whiteline \|Blitz\|Fortune Auto 500\|Fujimura\|SPL\|H&R\|TK\|TWM\|RPM Rollbar\|Sparco\|Next Level Performance\|TrackSpec\|AeroFlow Dynamics\|Pioneer\|

08-25-2017, 02:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
Hotrodz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NW, AZ Posts: 9,330 Drives: 10 Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 2684385	The caster is not as much a big deal as camber. If you get to much more than -2.5 you will get tire ware. Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk __________________ *Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:\|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX*\|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler\|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel\|3GsCustoms\|Z1\|Wavetrac\|Hotchkis\|Whiteline \|Blitz\|Fortune Auto 500\|Fujimura\|SPL\|H&R\|TK\|TWM\|RPM Rollbar\|Sparco\|Next Level Performance\|TrackSpec\|AeroFlow Dynamics\|Pioneer\|

08-26-2017, 11:24 PM	#10 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 68 Posts: 35,218 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684438	Caster won't hurt tire life. It just affects handling. Short answer. I have mine set at +7 caster, and -2 camber, toe a hair in. osbornsm and Hotrodz like this. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

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